“However, we remain vigilant to the potential challenges we face, including Brexit.”

Davy Stockbrokers said the Government was now within “touching distance” of a budget surplus. “We expect the deficit to equal 0.3pc of GDP in 2017, falling to 0.2pc in 2018,” said Davy economist David McNamara.

“One concern is the increased reliance on corporation tax, now accounting for 16pc of tax revenues and driving much of the tax outperformance. The volatility of corporation tax adds uncertainty to the Government’s revenue base as demographic and infrastructure pressures significantly add to spending in the coming years.”

Meanwhile, bond investors piled in to be among lenders to the State yesterday, as the Government borrowed €4bn on the bond markets.

Total orders placed by would-be investors topped €14bn, helping keep the yield – or effective interest rate for the State – at 0.94pc. It means in effect the State is paying an interest bill of less than 1pc a year to borrow over 10 years.

The deal means that roughly a quarter of the NTMA’s total 2018 borrowing target, which it said is between €14bn and €18bn, has already been reached.